Track adhesive

ls1gto

New Member
Guys, I did a search on Hot glue and didn't come up with exactly what I was looking for. I'm securing cork to foam and then track to cork. Right now I'm using a glue to secure both. Problem is, it takes forever to cure. 4-5 hours. Ive seen liquid nails recommended as well as a hot glue gun. What are the curing times on these things? Also, the Hot glue gun sounds interesting, if it dried quickly and did not distort the track, I thought it would be good enough to hold the track till the ballasting is complete. Input? Thank you!
 

skipgear

New Member
Hot glue will work fine. The DIY series "Workin' on the Railroad" used it when they did a 4 part start to finish series on a Woodland Scenics HO layout kit.

I prefer to use a foam safe contact cement. It works very fast and is flexible enough that you can reposition it if need be (once and only once).

Apply glue to layout, apply to cork, let set a few minutes, place on layout, press down and proceed to the next section. The biggest thing is to make sure to wait the few minutes for the glue to tack up.

The glue I used recently was a product I use for foam RC planes, UHU Por for foam. It is available at Michaels crafts around me. It would be cost prohibitive to use on a large layout. My test layout that I used it on was a 17" x 42" display layout and 1 $5 tube was enough to complete it.

Others have mentioned buying a similar product (Latex contact cement) by the pint or larger at Home Supply stores.
 

zedob

Member
I used to think that the glue gun was an "old lady" craft tool that had no place in MRRing. Boy, was I wrong. That stuff is the bomb. Other than accelerated super glues or contact cements, it's about as close to instant glue as you will find. It still takes a minute or two to cool down and harden, but once it's hardened, it's hard to beat, literally. I use it to glue foam, wood, cardboard, cardstock, track and about anything else that doesn't require precision glueing.

Be careful when glue track with this stuff. Don't use alot. Alittle dab will do and it will cool down much faster than "The Blob". Make sure your track can't move by applying weights or temp nails. What you don't want is for the glue to get under a tie and harden, which can create bumps. You can tack glue the tips of the ties and it will hold fine even on foam. You don't have to glue every tie, just enough to hold everything down.

It takes some getting used to. Learning "not to touch it, until it is cool" is probably your first lesson. When that happens, rub your finger on something quick, it'll help cool it down and roll it off your quickly burning finger tips.

The next lesson is the art of "no cob webs". All I can say is "don't pull the gun away to quick. The urge to do so is strong, but you must resist the temptation.

Oh yeah, don't worry about special temp glues, the cheap ones at the craft shops work fine for all of my hot gluing needs.
I highly recommend getting one. Go to a craft shop Micheal's or Hobby Lobby and buy one. Get one that handles the large 3/8" sticks.
 

eightyeightfan1

Now I'm AMP'd
I've used hot glue to hold down cork to benchwork. I think its GREEAAT!.
Only one drawback. If you decide to make a change, you're scrapping.
 

ls1gto

New Member
Sweet, thanks for all the input guys. Sounds like the gun may be a good way to go. I will take special note of those tips and let ya know how it goes. Thanks again to everyone!!:)
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
I used hot glue on my original layout. On the expansion I decided to go with white glue. I just pin the cork roadbed in place for about a half hour and it there. Glad I did because once I started adjusting the roadbed to fit the curve of the turnouts once I started to lay the track I was glad I did. It was easier to pull back up and reposition with more white glue.

This is another one of those cases, do what works best for you.
 

zedob

Member
ezdays said:
I used hot glue on my original layout. On the expansion I decided to go with white glue. I just pin the cork roadbed in place for about a half hour and it there. Glad I did because once I started adjusting the roadbed to fit the curve of the turnouts once I started to lay the track I was glad I did. It was easier to pull back up and reposition with more white glue.

This is another one of those cases, do what works best for you.



That's funny because I use to use white glue, but now am using the glue gun. Actually, like I said, I just tack track in place. This was after I welded some other track down with super blobs thinking that more was better and ended up destroying the track and leaving craters in the foam ROW. In the end, the ballast will hold the rest down securely, so I've learned to resist the extra trigger squeeze.

My present layout is what I'd call experimental and I've been trying out techniques that I never have before during my absence from the hobby and the HGG was a new tool. I may change my mind completely about using it for track later on, but as for now, it seems to work well. YMMV.

Even if you don't use it for track, it is a valuable tool.
 

Will_annand

Active Member
I am with Don. I use the white LePage's glue exclusively.
I have had to change a couple of sections of track already, just a spritz of water to soften the glue and use a putty knife. Track comes off cork smoothly, cork comes off foam with very little effort. No problems and I like the ease of use and the price.
 

ls1gto

New Member
Alright, I'm going to hi-jack my own thread:D . I hate to start another one to ask this. I went to the Shack today to pick up some odds and ends. I mistakenly picked up solid 20awg wire instead of stranded. Anyone know if this is O.K. to use solid in place of stranded? Its intended to be used to solder to the track as feed wires.
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
ls1gto said:
Alright, I'm going to hi-jack my own thread:D . I hate to start another one to ask this. I went to the Shack today to pick up some odds and ends. I mistakenly picked up solid 20awg wire instead of stranded. Anyone know if this is O.K. to use solid in place of stranded? Its intended to be used to solder to the track as feed wires.
The only difference between solid and stranded wire is flexability. I kinda like solid wire to solder to the tracks because you can get it to lay down nicely and no strands to fly loose. Whenever I use stranded for anything, I always pre-tin it to keep the strands together, I don't have to do that with solid wire. Personally, I prefer the solid for this application. Others might dispute that, put that's my personal opinion.
 

ls1gto

New Member
ezdays said:
The only difference between solid and stranded wire is flexability. I kinda like solid wire to solder to the tracks because you can get it to lay down nicely and no strands to fly loose. Whenever I use stranded for anything, I always pre-tin it to keep the strands together, I don't have to do that with solid wire. Personally, I prefer the solid for this application. Others might dispute that, put that's my personal opinion.

Bless you, I kinda thought it would be O.k. but I wanted an experienced opinion.
Thank you so much!!
 
C

Catt

I've never in the last 26 years ever used anything but white glue to attach roadbed on foam,homosote ,or plywood.

As for feeder wires I find that the solid core wire is better for the job than stranded wire.

Aside from that I say do what works best for you after all it is your layout. :D
 

60103

Pooh Bah
I would use the solid in peference to the stranded for feeders unless there is some reason they might need flexibility. You don't get stray strands reaching out to tickle your wheels with the solid. Remeber that the solid is 2 numbers smaller than stranded on the wire stripper.
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
Speaking of stripping wire, just be careful not to nick the sold wire. If you nick stranded, you may lose one or two strands but if you nick the solid there's a good chance that it will break at that point. I've always used those Miller, yellow-handled type with one lock-nut setting, but I've really got to be careful even though I've been stripping wire for a long time. If you use the type that holds the wire while it strips it and has different holes for each size, you stand a better chance of not nicking the wires.
 

eightyeightfan1

Now I'm AMP'd
Solid wire is best.
You'll have a less of a voltage drop because of less resistence you get if you used stranded wire. Solid is recomended for feeders, especially for a large layout.
Ok...Back in my closet....
 

Connor

Member
skipgear said:
Hot glue will work fine. The DIY series "Workin' on the Railroad" used it when they did a 4 part start to finish series on a Woodland Scenics HO layout kit.

I actually have the layout used in the 3rd step from that 4 part series (the actual layout they built up to step 3.. They had 4 different ones) .. I can tell you that using Hot glue for laying your track isn't the best thing in the world.. I wasn't impressed at all with the way they did it.. Use The white glue from woodland scenics, much better.. If you don't spread the hot glue real thin you end up with a large clumb of stuff under the ties and it's hard to ballast over... just doesn't look right.
 

Clerk

Active Member
I agree with Will. I use Elmers white glue for cork and track work. It doesn't take very long for the glue to set up and if changes have to be made, I just wet it down and the glue softens up and the track and cork just lifts off.:wave: :wave:
 

Agatheron

Member
I guess a follow-up question to the white glue issue for tracklaying... Because white glue does soften up again once it gets wet, does this mean there might be a danger of loosening the track when one goes to ballast?

I'm going to be using primarily Kato Unitrack for my first layout, but I will be gluing it down to pink foamboard. In related projects, I've had a lot of success with LePage's "No More Nails" adhesive... at least for gluing foamboard together. However, since it is not a clear-drying substance, I'm hestiant to use it on non-Kato track. At least with Unitrack, I'm gluing down the roadbed, not really the track itself...
 

Clerk

Active Member
I have had no trouble with the glue getting soft when ballasting the tracks or the tracks shifting.
 
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